MIMA FOUNDATION

A BRIDGE TO KAYENJE

PLEASE CLICK ON EACH PICTURE TO READ A FULL ARTICLE

Kayenje, Uganda was the newest and furthest destination that the MIMA team traveled to in 2006.

5 volunteers, Dr. Norberto Benitez, a pediatrician from Jacksonville, FL and his wife , Anna Benitez RN, Bill Love (handyman,) Willette Shaeffer( dentist),and Carole Autenzio ( photographer) made up the team that left Jacksonville, Florida on July 22nd. The team was led by Fr. Lawrence Mulinda, who is a parish priest at St. Paul's Catholic Church and School in Jacksonville Beach and Dr. Benitez. Kayenje, Uganda is Father's village which is a 2 hour drive out of the capital of Kampala. It is very remote and is located in the mountains. There is no running water or electricity for miles. Additionally, the team visited Seeta, and Jinga on the Nile and two other areas; Kokonjero and Kampala.

The project consisted of building a school, renovating the church and digging a well. It was found to be impossible to dig the well due to the altitude, so the plan is now to buy large tanks that will harvest the rain water off the new roofs of the new buildings. We did successfully dig a well outside of Seeta.

The fundraiser for this project took place 2/25/06 with 400 people buying tickets for $10 a piece and church items, such as pews and windows were sold that night for the upcoming trip. $25,000 was raised that night. Also, at St. Paul's school, each classroom adopted a church item and raised money for it. Besides the fundraisers at the church and school, Rawlings Middle School in Ponte Vedra Beach sold bottled water with Ugandan facts on the labels during their field day to raise $1400. This paid for the well equipment that was brought on the trip . The team also trained two locals to use the equipment and it was left for them to continue to dig wells. Incredibly, the total fundraising efforts netted $42,000.

Travel to Uganda is tough...the team flew Miami, Newark, Paris ~ spent the night in Paris and then on to Amsterdam and then to Entebb. It's definitely one of those places "you can't get to from here". Additionally, cost makes the trip challenging as well...airline tickets alone...$2300 per person...however, cost while there was minimal. It is customary to eat when visiting the locals in the villages, so often the team ate with the nuns while visiting an orphanage or school. When visiting a parish, we would be served a meal after Mass, so food costs were minimal.

The weather is very mild and stable due to the location. It is directly on the equator so temperatures are usually around 73 degrees with minimal change.

Besides visiting and working with the school and church in the village, the team also visited four hospitals, three schools and an orphanage. 60% of the patients hospitalized are suffering from malaria. Infection control is a major issues since the hospital wards are set up according to sex, which allows malaria patients to be next to a patient with TB or AIDS, and these are issues that are very difficult to change and control.

The team plans to return next year in late July. Father Lawrence's brother will be ordained as a Catholic priest and he will say his first Mass in the new church in Kayenje that the team is building. The goal is to also build three simple homes for teachers that would hopefully attract better teachers to the area. The team will also plan to build chairs and desks while there.

If anyone is interested in joining this team, please contact MIMA well in advance. Obviously, a major issue is the cost for the volunteers, and each volunteer would be responsible for travel costs for this trip.


								A BRIDGE TO KAYENJE PLEASE CLICK ON EACH PICTURE TO READ A FULL ARTICLE Kayenje, Uganda was the newest and furthest destination that the MIMA team traveled to in 2006. 5 volunteers, Dr. Norberto Benitez, a pediatrician from Jacksonville, FL and his wife , Anna Benitez RN, Bill Love (handyman,) Willette Shaeffer( dentist),and Carole Autenzio ( photographer) made up the team that left Jacksonville, Florida on July 22nd. The team was led by Fr. Lawrence Mulinda, who is a parish priest at St. Paul's Catholic Church and School in Jacksonville Beach and Dr. Benitez. Kayenje, Uganda is Father's village which is a 2 hour drive out of the capital of Kampala. It is very remote and is located in the mountains. There is no running water or electricity for miles. Additionally, the team visited Seeta, and Jinga on the Nile and two other areas; Kokonjero and Kampala. The project consisted of building a school, renovating the church and digging a well. It was found to be impossible to dig the well due to the altitude, so the plan is now to buy large tanks that will harvest the rain water off the new roofs of the new buildings. We did successfully dig a well outside of Seeta. The fundraiser for this project took place 2/25/06 with 400 people buying tickets for $10 a piece and church items, such as pews and windows were sold that night for the upcoming trip. $25,000 was raised that night. Also, at St. Paul's school, each classroom adopted a church item and raised money for it. Besides the fundraisers at the church and school, Rawlings Middle School in Ponte Vedra Beach sold bottled water with Ugandan facts on the labels during their field day to raise $1400. This paid for the well equipment that was brought on the trip . The team also trained two locals to use the equipment and it was left for them to continue to dig wells. Incredibly, the total fundraising efforts netted $42,000. Travel to Uganda is tough...the team flew Miami, Newark, Paris ~ spent the night in Paris and then on to Amsterdam and then to Entebb. It's definitely one of those places "you can't get to from here". Additionally, cost makes the trip challenging as well...airline tickets alone...$2300 per person...however, cost while there was minimal. It is customary to eat when visiting the locals in the villages, so often the team ate with the nuns while visiting an orphanage or school. When visiting a parish, we would be served a meal after Mass, so food costs were minimal. The weather is very mild and stable due to the location. It is directly on the equator so temperatures are usually around 73 degrees with minimal change. Besides visiting and working with the school and church in the village, the team also visited four hospitals, three schools and an orphanage. 60% of the patients hospitalized are suffering from malaria. Infection control is a major issues since the hospital wards are set up according to sex, which allows malaria patients to be next to a patient with TB or AIDS, and these are issues that are very difficult to change and control. The team plans to return next year in late July. Father Lawrence's brother will be ordained as a Catholic priest and he will say his first Mass in the new church in Kayenje that the team is building. The goal is to also build three simple homes for teachers that would hopefully attract better teachers to the area. The team will also plan to build chairs and desks while there. If anyone is interested in joining this team, please contact MIMA well in advance. Obviously, a major issue is the cost for the volunteers, and each volunteer would be responsible for travel costs for this trip.